Buying advice8 min read
The best beds for small bedrooms: size, storage and style
In a small bedroom the bed takes most of the floor, so the right one decides how the whole room works. Start with the size the room can take, then choose a frame and storage that give you space back.
In this guide
- What size bed fits a small bedroom?
- Is a small double or a double better for a small room?
- Is an ottoman bed good for a small bedroom?
- Which bed frames take up the least space?
- How can a bed make a small bedroom look bigger?
- Should a small bedroom have a tall headboard?
- Will the bed fit up the stairs?
- Questions
Key takeaways
- Choose the size from the room: about 2.6 × 2.6 m for a small double and 2.8 × 2.8 m for a double, with 70 cm to walk down each open side.
- A small double (120 × 190 cm) suits one adult in a small room. Two adults sharing every night are more comfortable in a double.
- An ottoman base gives the most storage without taking extra floor, because nothing opens at the sides.
- Plain and panelled frames add the least to the mattress size. Winged and sleigh frames add the most.
- Pale colours, a low footboard and a taller headboard all help a small room feel bigger.
- Measure the stairs and doorways as well as the room. Bedline beds arrive in parts and are assembled in the room.
What size bed fits a small bedroom?
Start with the room and work back to the bed. You need roughly 70 cm of clear floor on any side you walk down, and 90 cm where a wardrobe door or drawer opens into the walkway. Whatever floor is left is the largest bed the room can take.
| Bed size | Mattress | Comfortable room | Tight but workable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | 90 × 190 cm | 2.1 × 2.6 m | 1.8 × 2.4 m |
| Small Double | 120 × 190 cm | 2.6 × 2.6 m | 2.3 × 2.4 m |
| Double | 135 × 190 cm | 2.8 × 2.8 m | 2.5 × 2.6 m |
| King | 150 × 200 cm | 3.0 × 3.0 m | 2.7 × 2.8 m |
Remember that a frame is bigger than its mattress. Siderails, padding and wings add roughly 5 to 25 cm on each side, depending on the design, and the headboard adds depth at the top. In a small room, those centimetres are the difference between walking round the bed and edging past it.
Plan the layout before you settle on a size. Note which way the door swings, where the radiator and window sit, and which wall the wardrobe needs. In a small room only one wall may take the headboard, and that wall sets the walkways on either side of the bed.
Our bed size guide has the full measurements for every UK size, including the imperial figures.
Is a small double or a double better for a small room?
A small double is 120 × 190 cm (4 ft × 6 ft 3 in): 15 cm narrower than a 135 cm double and the same length. It needs a room of about 2.6 × 2.6 m, against 2.8 × 2.8 m for a double.
Small double or double?
Choose a small double if
- One adult sleeps in it
- The room is under about 2.8 m in either direction
- It is a guest room that also works as a study
- You want a bedside table on both sides
Choose a double if
- Two adults share the bed every night
- The room is about 2.8 × 2.8 m or larger
- You can keep 70 cm clear on each side you walk down
- You are happy to push one side against a wall
For one adult a small double is a generous bed, a third wider than a 90 cm single. For two adults it gives 60 cm each, and couples sharing every night will be more comfortable in a double.
If two of you share a small room, a double with one long side against the wall can fit where a double with a walkway on both sides cannot. You lose a bedside table on one side and gain about 70 cm of floor. Browse small double beds if one person sleeps in the bed, or read our double vs king guide if you are weighing up the bigger sizes.
Is an ottoman bed good for a small bedroom?
Yes, and it usually beats drawers. Drawers need open floor beside the bed to pull out into: a walkway with a drawer opening into it wants about 90 cm clear, against 70 cm for a plain walkway. In a small room a wardrobe, a door or the walkway itself has already claimed that floor. An ottoman lifts the mattress on gas struts and opens the whole space under it, so it needs headroom above the bed and no floor beside it.
You can keep spare bedding, suitcases and winter clothes under the mattress and leave the room clear of a chest or a blanket box. At Bedline the slatted gas-lift ottoman base costs £219 in every size from Single to Super King, though it is not available in Small Single. See our ottoman beds, or read are ottoman beds worth it? for the trade-offs.
Which bed frames take up the least space?
In a small room the shape of the frame matters as much as its size. A plain or panelled frame keeps close to the mattress, with straight sides and a headboard that sits flat to the wall. A winged headboard adds width at the head end, and a sleigh frame curves outwards at the head and the foot, adding length at both ends.
Look at the footboard too. A tall footboard closes off the end of the bed and makes a short room feel shorter. A low footboard keeps your line of sight running across the bed, so the floor reads as one open space.
Slim frames for small rooms
Prices shown are for the small double frame.
Choose fabric and size
Choose fabric and size
ChesterfieldChoose fabric and sizeThe Johnnay is a plain upholstered frame and the Serene a piped panel design, both with straight, clean lines. The Althorp pairs a pleated Chesterfield headboard with a low upholstered footboard, so you get a traditional look without boxing in the end of the bed.
How can a bed make a small bedroom look bigger?
Colour does most of the work. Pale shades reflect more light, so a cream or soft grey bed sits back into the room instead of filling it. A bed close in tone to the walls reads as part of the room. Our cream beds are a good place to start.
Texture helps too. Mayfair Linen, our linen-look weave, has a soft, natural texture that looks calm in a pale shade, and it comes in 16 colours. Pale linen and bouclé show dirt sooner than mid tones, so if the bed gets leaned on every night, a warm mid tone is the practical pick.
Dress the bed in tones close to the frame. A pale frame under bold, contrasting bedding breaks into blocks of colour, while a tonal bed sits in the room as one calm shape. A frame with a solid base or an ottoman also hides what is underneath, so the room looks tidier than one with boxes pushed under an open frame.
Should a small bedroom have a tall headboard?
Often, yes. A taller headboard draws the eye up the wall instead of across the floor, which makes a small room feel taller, and it takes no extra floor at all. It also gives a smaller bed more presence, so a small double does not look lost.
Our headboards are 54 inches tall as standard. You can choose 60 inches for £119 more, 72 inches for £189, or 73 to 79 inches for £279. Check the height under any window sill, shelf or sloping ceiling behind the bed first. Browse tall headboard beds for frames that suit the extra height.
Will the bed fit up the stairs?
Small bedrooms often sit at the top of narrow stairs or behind a tight turn. Measure the route before you order, including the ceiling height over the stairs, since a low ceiling there can stop a headboard as easily as a narrow staircase.
Front door and hall
Measure each door opening and the hall at its narrowest point.
Stairs and landing
Measure the stair width, the headroom above the stairs and the space at any turn or landing.
Bedroom door
Measure the opening with the door fully open, and note anything in the way, such as a radiator or banister.
Send them to us
If any figure looks tight, send the measurements on WhatsApp and we will check them against the frame you like.
Every Bedline bed arrives in parts and is assembled in the room, so you never carry a made-up bed upstairs. The headboard is the largest single piece. Delivery to the UK mainland is free, and delivery with full assembly costs £149.
The verdict
Choose the size from the room: a small double for one adult in a room of about 2.6 × 2.6 m, a double for two in a room of about 2.8 × 2.8 m. Then pick a plain or panelled frame with a low footboard, add an ottoman base for storage that takes no extra floor, and go pale and tall to make the room feel bigger.
Questions people ask
What size bed is best for a small bedroom?
In a room of about 2.6 × 2.6 m, a small double (120 × 190 cm) leaves space to walk round it. From about 2.8 × 2.8 m, a double fits comfortably.
Will a double bed fit in a small room?
A double needs about 2.8 × 2.8 m to walk round comfortably, or 2.5 × 2.6 m if nothing opens into the walkway. Pushing one side against a wall saves a walkway in a narrower room.
Is a small double big enough for two?
It gives two adults 60 cm each, which is tight every night. It suits one adult or occasional guests; couples are more comfortable in a double or king.
Is an ottoman bed good for a small bedroom?
Yes. It opens the whole space under the mattress without needing any floor at the sides, so it gives the most storage in the least room. Check the headroom above the foot of the bed first.
What bed makes a small room look bigger?
A pale, plain or panelled frame with a low footboard keeps the room open, and a taller headboard draws the eye up the wall. Linen-look fabric in a light shade suits the look.
What size is a small double bed in the UK?
A UK small double is 120 × 190 cm, or 4 ft × 6 ft 3 in. It is 15 cm narrower than a double and the same length.
About Bedline
Bedline makes upholstered beds, ottoman beds and TV beds to order in Britain, in six UK sizes and 72 colours, and delivers them free to the UK mainland. Our guides are written by the team who help customers choose their beds every day on WhatsApp, so they answer the questions we are actually asked.
